Press release
23 July 2009
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
What should a modern foreign service look like?
Today the Government adopted terms of reference for an inquiry to review the structure of and staff recruitment and development in the foreign representation and cooperation with stakeholders inside and outside the Government Offices. The inquiry will be chaired by Peter Egardt.
"The inquiry will look at how we can put in place a more flexible Foreign Service that is more able to focus on priority issues. It is to recommend criteria for where Sweden should have a presence around the world and also look at how to modernise the Foreign Service so as to respond to new demands resulting from globalisation. The inquiry chair will make proposals on the potential for cooperation in the EU and the Nordic region, taking account of developments including the planned European External Action Service," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt.
The inquiry is to proceed from the new situation resulting from EU membership and globalisation, the growing international role of other parts of the Government Offices, external changes affecting migration, consular assistance, development cooperation and the need for strong business promotion. It is to work towards a more flexible and cost-effective Foreign Service that is better able to reorder its priorities so as to respond to rapid external change.
Under its terms of reference the inquiry is to present proposals on:
- the organisation, efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of the Foreign Service;
- the relations of the foreign representation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the rest of the Government Offices as well as with actors outside the Government Offices;
- cooperation and the division of responsibility between the Foreign Service and the rest of the Government Offices concerning the governance and monitoring of the activities of missions abroad;
- the geographical location of missions abroad, the potential for a division of labour in the Nordic region and/or the EU and the potential for greater flexibility in selecting forms of foreign representation; and
- how to achieve good, long-term staff recruitment and development.
The inquiry chair Peter Egardt is President of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Peter Egardt was State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office in 1991-94.
The inquiry is to report no later than 1 February 2010.
